Despite the pandemic, Robi managed to end 2020 with a positive revenue growth (1.1%) compared to last year (2019).
The total revenue of the company in 2020 stood at TK 75.64 billion after adding Tk 19.20 billion in Q4'20.
Adding Tk 390 million to the profit tally, Robi's total profit after tax reached Tk 1.55 billion, indicating a strong growth momentum following the measly profit in 2019, said a press release.
However, the growth momentum was heavily impeded by the 2.0 per cent minimum tax on gross revenue, reports UNB.
This unjust tax resulted in Robi being the only notable entrant into the capital market without being offered any incentive.
Hence, given the 71.8 per ecnt effective tax rate in 2020, it is very evident that the company is being held back significantly due to the excessive tax burden.
Having added 190 million subscribers to its network in 2020, Robi's subscriber base reached 590 million by the end of 2020, out of which, 69.2 per cent were data subscribers. 4G subscribers, in particular, had grown by more than 72.8 per cent compared to last year.
Due to the seasonal impact, Robi's voice revenue declined by 1.0 per cent in Q4'20, compared to last quarter (Q3'20). This translated into 0.7 per cent de-growth in total revenue for Q4'20, compared to Q3'20.
Compared to 2019, Robi's voice revenue declined by 9.9 per cent in 2020, indicating customers' growing reliance on OTT platforms for making voice calls. Data revenue, on the other hand, grew by 1.0 per cent compared to last quarter (Q3'20), and by 26 per cent compared to last year (2019).
EBITDA declined by 3.2 per cent compared to Q3'20. However, considering the whole year, EBITDA grew by 11.8 per cent.
EBITDA margin for Q4'20 stood at 39.7 per cent, which is 1.0 percentage point (pp) lower than Q3'20. EBITDA margin for 2020 stood at 42.6 per cent, which is 4.1 percentage points higher than 2019.
Robi contributed Tk 14.83 billion to the Government Exchequer in Q4'20, which is 77.3 per cent of the total revenue for the quarter. In total, Robi has contributed Tk 42.36 billion to the Government Exchequer in 2020, which is 56 per cent of the total revenue for the year.